From The Senate: Sen. President Therese Murray

Senator Therese Murray

Friday

Nov 4, 2011 at 2:00 AM

When I first joined the Massachusetts Senate in 1993, the Plymouth and Barnstable District looked markedly different than it does today.

When I first joined the Massachusetts Senate in 1993, the Plymouth and Barnstable District looked markedly different than it does today. I had the opportunity to represent the towns of Hanson, Wareham, East and West Bridgewater, and Whitman.

As population numbers change and shift throughout the Commonwealth, district boundaries are redrawn to create fair and equal representation in each voting district. Every 10 years, the Legislature is charged with redrawing the state’s districts for the House, Senate, Governor’s Council and Congressional seats to reflect any changes in population.

According to the maps developed by the Joint Committee on Redistricting in October, the Plymouth and Barnstable District will be shifting again to accommodate an increase in population in my district, and a loss of population on Cape Cod.

The 2010 U.S. Census numbers revealed that the population in my district is 5.4 percent over the ideal population for a Senate district, where the population in the Cape & Islands District is under by 2.7 percent. The new maps move my three precincts in Barnstable to the Cape & Islands District and I will be losing the town of Plympton to the Second Plymouth & Bristol District.

The towns of Plymouth and Pembroke continue to expand, and the population in my district has consistently been above the population limit throughout my time in the Senate. As a result of this growth, Plymouth will gain a third representative in the House with the new redistricting maps.

The Legislature has carried out the task of redistricting since the 1800s and the process has evolved over the years to keep redistricting a fair and open process. Through a combination of public hearings, testimony and online feedback, I am confident that this year’s process is the most transparent ever conducted in Massachusetts.

We developed the first-ever Joint Committee on Redistricting and assigned Senator Stanley Rosenberg, who successfully led the redistricting process 10 years ago, to take charge in the Senate. The Joint Committee spent over a year preparing and the Senate also has hired outside counsel to ensure equal and fair representation of the minority population and political interests in the redrawn districts.

The Joint Committee heard more than 31 hours of testimony from more than 400 individuals and groups in 13 public hearings across the Commonwealth. I attended and testified at the public hearing held on the Cape and it provided an opportunity for everyone in the region to be heard and to understand the impact of redistricting.

In addition to public hearings, the public was invited to submit their ideas and maps to the Joint Committee through the Legislature’s website and many residents took advantage of this feature. And, once the proposed maps were released, the public had a seven-day window to provide public comment on the new district boundaries.

The public comment period marked the first time this had been done during the redistricting process in Massachusetts and I’m confident that it will play a major role in finishing a successful and transparent redistricting process.

With these changes, we created a two-way conversation between the Joint Committee and the public, giving the public the opportunity to offer valuable insight and input as to how a change in their district would impact their community.

I applaud the Joint Committee and chairs Senator Rosenberg and Representative Michael Moran for their hard work and dedication to upholding a fair redistricting process. I also want to thank my constituents and residents across the Commonwealth for taking the time to provide the Joint Committee with valuable insight on your town and your community. Redistricting requires public knowledge and input to get it right and we welcomed your feedback throughout this process.

And while the new maps are indicative of necessary change, I have formed strong and lasting bonds with the towns of Plympton and Barnstable and we have accomplished so much through the years. I am proud to continue to be their voice throughout the remainder of this year and through to the end of 2012.

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